Good Advice
by gawilliams
Summary: We all have someone we got to for some good advice.  Booth turns to the one person he has always gone to for advice when he is torn about the whole money issue and getting a house with Bones.  Post Season Seven Premiere.


_The season premiere had a number of excellent venues for stories, but this one is one that I felt would be a good one. Naturally Booth needs some advice so who does he turn to? You guessed it. Pops. I hope you enjoy this one. Gregg._

_Disclaimer: I don't own, or profit from, these characters or franchise. No copyright infringement is intended._

Booth and Pops were sitting in a booth at the Founding Fathers having an early dinner after having taken in a matinee. Booth had not spending as much time with Pops lately, and wanted to make it up for him.

"So, how's the house hunting coming along?" Pops asked in that wonderfully gruff, yet loving voice.

Booth sighed as he ate a fry. "Rough, Pops," he replied. "I can't afford any of the homes Bones is finding online."

"Surely Temperance can given her kind of money," Pops pointed out, taking a large bite of his hamburger. He'd been doing well on his diet, so he had insisted on a treat for dinner.

"Oh, not you, too," Booth groaned.

"What's that supposed to mean, Shrimp?" Pops demanded sternly.

"I want to be able to go 50/50 on any home we get," Booth told him. "But on my salary I can't afford anything near what she's looking at. I can afford, _**maybe**_, $4,000 a month for my half, but that's it, Pops. The homes that Bones is looking at would mean my half would be about twelve or thirteen thousand a month, at least."

"Why do you have to pay half?" Pops asked. He could very well guess, but he wanted Shrimp to say it. What he heard, though, was not what he was expecting.

"I want our kid to be proud to have me as a Dad," Booth said seriously. "I want our kid to know that his or her Dad provided a good home and a good family. I want our kid to know I wasn't my Dad."

Hank thought about his own son, Seeley's dad, and a wave of sadness came over him, and shame. Seeley's dad was the one failure that Hank regretted. But Seeley needed to know a few things.

"Did you know your grandma and me nearly got divorced?" he asked his grandson.

"What?" Booth choked on his beer. "You and Grandma? No way!"

"Oh, yes," Hank replied. "It was just after the war. You know what it was over? Your Grandma wanting to work."

"I don't understand," Booth shook his head. That was supposed to be Bones' line.

"The world was changing, Seeley," Hank explained. "During the war your Grandma had a job. She started out in a perfume department, but wound up running most of the store. When I got back from overseas and settled in with my wife and wanted to start a family, I assumed that the old ways would come back. The man works and provides for his family, the woman stays home and takes care of the household. That idea didn't go over so well with a woman who had found that she enjoyed being out in the world and earning her own money."

"That caused you guys to almost get divorced?" Booth asked. He had to be missing something. He couldn't think of any two people who had loved each other more than his grandparents.

"At then time it was the issue of her working, but over the years I've come to realize that it was more my damn pride that caused the problem," Hank told him. "Your Grandma was an amazing woman, Seeley. I had a lot of good years with her, and I wouldn't trade them for anything. But a relationship, a long lasting relationship, means that both people need to make sacrifices. For me, and a lot of men, that means letting go of our stupid, foolish pride. I have a feeling that your problem has a lot to do with your pride, Seeley."

"But what about wanting to do right by our kids?" Booth asked. "How can I give them the kind of home, and values you and Grandma gave me if I can't even contribute to our home."

"You won't be your Dad, Seeley," Hank told him directly. "You won't be him because you have a life of purpose and good friends that care about you. Even that young cracker jack head shrinker is a friend. I don't know what happened to your dad, Shrimp, but I do know you have much more to work with and care about than he did. I'm only sorry that I didn't take you in a lot sooner."

"Dad was a drunk," Booth said quietly. "He had an addiction. I gambled. That's an addiction. How do I know that it won't become my overwhelming demon?"

"Your Mom was a wonderful woman, Shrimp," Hank told him, thinking of his late daughter-in-law. "But she wasn't strong enough to keep your Dad's demons from destroying him and his family. Temperance, on the other hand, will kick your stubborn, prideful ass if you fall off the wagon whether it's a drinking problem or gambling. She'd really kick your ass if you ever knocked your kids around."

"I'd be permanently disabled," Booth shuddered at what Bones would do to him. "If I was lucky."

"Seeley, it doesn't matter how much money you put towards any home you both choose to get," Hank offered. "It doesn't matter if you get a 3 million dollar home, or a nice one in the suburbs for a few hundred thousand. What matters is that you both get the home you want to raise your family in, and you get it without thinking about false pride. Temperance wants to be able to provide a comfortable home and make you happy. Can you honestly say that that would have bee the case a few years ago? Her being selfless and generous like that outside of her charities?"

Booth shook his head. "No," he admitted. "So you're saying I'm worrying for nothing?"

"Pretty much," Hank chuckled. "I learned to put my pride aside, and I had over forty good years with your Grandma. I think you and Temperance deserve that same happiness, Seeley. Just make sure that when you make your decision about a home, or anything else, you don't keep your options closed because of pride. Practical problems are one thing, but pride is all your own problem, not anyone else's."

"You always give me a lot to think about," Booth chuckled. "That's supposed to be Bones' department."

Hank smiled. "That's what I'm here for, Shrimp," he said with a chuckle. "Now how about we finish dinner and go play some dominoes? I think I can take you down a peg or two before heading back to the retirement home."

"You're on," Booth smiled. He placed a hand over his Grandfather's. "Thanks, Pops. I can always count on you for good advice."

"That's what I'm here for, Shrimp," Hank told him. "Just quit worrying about so many of the details and learn to enjoy the life you have, and the opportunities you have. God had a reason for sending you Temperance. Maybe it's so you can have the peace of mind you deserve. Let her be the peace you need, Seeley. Just like your Grandma was for me."

Booth put some money on the table and stood up. "Let's go, Pops. Time for some dominoes!" he said, and walked out of the restaurant with the older man. He was halted by Pops' hand on his arm when they got to the SUV. "Yeah?" he asked.

"Just remember one thing, Shrimp," Pops told him. "No matter where the two of you live, you each bring something to the relationship. It doesn't matter if it's money, emotional support, or just a shoulder to lean on. You could live in a shack, and it wouldn't matter. The contribution is the same. Don't let your pride mess up something as good as this relationship is over the issue of money. And certainly don't refuse to let Temperance give something as magnanimous as a large home to the relationship because you think you might be viewed as your Dad. If you stay the man I know you are, no one would ever think that. Just keep making me proud, Seeley."

He finished his little speech and then got into the SUV. He didn't care where Temperance and Shrimp lived so long as the decision was an honest one and not one based on false pride and fears. Looking at Seeley, he could see that his Grandson was already thinking about it.

_A/N: I left the story kind of open ended as in real life problems regarding pride, and fears, don't get resolved in single short conversations. I wanted to bring in someone Booth respects and admires to help him work through those issues in a small way. I may do some short conversations with Bones, Angela, Hodgins, and possibly even Sweets as Booth progresses, but those will be stand alone stories under a series arc if I do them. I hope you enjoyed this one. Gregg._


End file.
